Dr. Frederick 'Fred' Stark Pearson was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, in the United States of America, on the 3rd July 1861, the son of Ambrose and Hannah Amelia Pearson, (née Edgerly). Fred was the second eldest of four children from his father’s second marriage, and he had at least three half-siblings from his father’s first marriage. His father was a civil engineer and farmer.
Fred graduated from Tufts College in 1883, received his master's degree the following year and honorary doctorates followed in 1900 and 1905. He was instructor in mathematics and applied mechanics at Tufts College and The Massachusetts Institute of Technology between 1883 and 1886.
On the 5th January 1887, he married Mabel Ward in Lowell, and they had three children, two boys and a girl. Ward Edgerly, born in 1888, Natalie, born in 1890, and Frederick A., born in 1892. The first family home was in Lowell, but later, they also bought a property in England - ‘Coombe House‘, at Coombe Warren, in Kingston Hill, Surrey, another at Great Barrington, Massachusetts, U.S.A. and another at 271 Calle Mallarca, Barcelona, Spain. Despite the cosmopolitan nature of his life style, Frederick Pearson always regarded himself as a New Yorker.
He gained early professional and business experience as a mining engineer and as chief engineer in charge of The Boston Street Railway, where he developed the
electric transportation system, The Dominion Coal Company and The Metropolitan Street Railway of New York of which he became chief engineer in 1894. Later business dealings especially in land and mining, made him a millionaire and he became widely known for his work in the construction of reservoirs and irrigation plants in arid areas of America and South America through The Pearson Engineering Co., of 115, Broadway, New York.
He also later became leader of a group of American capitalists which controlled, amongst others, The Brazil Traction, Light and Power Company, The Barcelona Traction, Light and Power Company, The Denver and Salt Lake Railroad, The Mexican Tramways Company, The Rio de Janeiro Tramway, Light and Power Company, The Mexican Light and Power Company and The Mexico North Western Railway Company.
He also made frequent visits to his home in England, to conduct business there. In fact, in February 1915, he and his wife were in England for the marriage of their daughter, Natalie, to Reginald Nicholson, but immediately afterwards, they left for New York City.
As most of the financial backing for Fred Pearson's business schemes was British, however, once the Great War broke out, these schemes suffered necessary setbacks and by the spring of 1915, he decided to return to England to try to improve his financial situation. As a consequence, he booked saloon passage for himself and his wife, to England, on the Lusitania, which left New York just after mid-day on 1st May 1915.
When the couple had boarded the liner, room B51 was allocated to them, which was the personal responsibility of First Class Bedroom Steward Walter Wood, who came from Seaforth, near Liverpool. Their saloon ticket was numbered 46094. Another saloon passenger travelling on the Lusitania with his family was Major Frederic Pearl, who at that time was president of The Pearson Engineering Company. His passage on the liner was unconnected with his position, however.
Six days out of New York, on the afternoon of 7th May 1915, the ship was sunk by the German submarine U-20, within sight of the southern Irish coast and only hours away from her Liverpool home port. Both of the Pearson’s perished as a result of this action - Dr. Pearson was aged 54 years and his wife 52.
An article in The Surrey Advertiser for Saturday 15th May 1915 states: -
Both were expected to arrive at their residence at 9 p.m. on Friday last and dinner was laid for that hour, among those awaiting them being their only daughter, who had been married in February and had not seen them since she and the bridegroom went away for their honeymoon.
Dr. Pearson's body was one of the first to be recovered from the sea and once it had been landed at Queenstown, it was taken to a temporary mortuary set up at the Cunard Office at Lynch's Quay and given the reference number 16. Once a positive identification had been made, however, it was sent to London and from there, it was put on a train at Westmin
route for the London Necropolis at Brookwood Cemetery, Surrey, supposedly for burial at 2.45 p.m.. However, instead, it was cremated at nearby St. John’s Crematorium in Hermitage Road, Woking on that date - the ashes eventually being returned to America - presumably to New York.
Property recovered from his body, which probably aided its identification, was handed over to a Mr. Alfred Hutt, of 34, Bishopsgate, London, E.C., on the authority of the United States Consul. It is likely that he was a legal representative. Although a list of passengers published by the Cunard Steam Ship Company in March 1916 records that Dr. Pearson was British, this was clearly a mistake.
His wife's body was recovered six days after the sinking and was cremated at Woking on 21st May, the ashes similarly being returned to America for disposal.
Bedroom Steward Wood, who had looked after the Pearson’s in room B51 on their last crossing of the Atlantic, survived the sinking and eventually got back to his Seaforth home. Similarly, Major Pearl survived, although members of his family perished.
Administration of Pearson’s British estate was granted to an attorney on behalf of his son, Mr. Ward Edgerly Pearson, and his effects amounted to £328,960-0s-0d.
In 1912, the town of Pearson was established by The Medina Valley Irrigation Company in Medina County Texas, in honour of Fred Pearson, who was its chief engineer, but it never grew beyond a shop, a machinery and materials yard, and a house for a caretaker. On the other hand, Natalia, in south eastern Medina County, Texas, and named after the Pearson's daughter Natalie, still survives today. In 1990, its population was 1,545.
Frederick Stark Pearson was also a close friend of fellow saloon passenger George Kessler, the Champagne King, who survived the sinking of the Lusitania.
The Pearson’s sons, and Mabel Pearson’s two unmarried sisters, Katherine L. and Grace Ward, filed a claim for compensation for the deaths of Fred and Mabel with the U.S. State Department. This claim was decided by the Mixed Claims Commission after the war. The Commission awarded their sons the sum of $50,000.00 each, and Mabel Pearson’s sisters were awarded $3,000.00 each.
Massachusetts U.S. Birth Records 1840 – 1915, Massachusetts U.S. Marriage Records 1840 – 1915, 1865 Massachusetts State Census, 1870 U.S. Federal Census, 1880 U.S. Federal Census, New York Passenger Lists 1820 – 1957, Cunard Records, Mixed Claims Commission Docket No. 579 & 581, Handbook of Texas Online, New York Times, San Francisco Examiner, Southern Star, Surrey Advertiser, Surrey Comet, Western Mail, Tragedy of the Lusitania, Woking Crematorium, Probate Records, PRO 22/71, PRO BT 100/345, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, James Maggs, Stuart Williamson, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.